Why, no matter who you ask, everyone says that cakes used to be tastier than they are now? And this despite the fact that the composition is almost the same both then and now. Honestly, I myself believe that no modern cake can compare to the “Prague” cake that I received as a child for my birthday.
Let's see if there is any difference between cakes from the past and those of today?
Despite the fact that Soviet cakes all look different, they are almost the same desserts. The “Gift” cake and the “Fairytale” cake consist of almost the same semi-finished products, only with different shapes and decorations.
To understand this, you first need to understand what a cake is made of.
The base is a cake. In the USSR, this was most often a sponge cake, although shortbread and protein cakes were also popular.
The second ingredient is cream. Charlotte cream (a mixture of custard syrup and butter) was mainly used. The cream is incredibly creamy, sweet and holds its shape perfectly. It was from this cream that the decoration in the form of roses and other flowers was made.
The most common external powder used was biscuit crumbs, which were made from biscuit scraps — a kind of waste-free production. And this was done not only for reasons of economy, but also because of the shortage of raw materials.
Despite the fact that many people say that in the past all cakes were made from natural ingredients, in reality this is not entirely true. In rich regions, raw materials were plentiful, while in poorer regions, margarine was used instead of butter, and this was not a violation of GOST.
But the cakes were still delicious. My favorite cake of that era was “Gift”. I still remember the smell of roasted peanuts and the light sweetness of powdered sugar. Airy and richly soaked sponge cakes with alcoholic syrup. All this was layered with delicate Charlotte butter cream. It was delicious, even very delicious. And what happened to these cakes now?
Most of the cakes from the Soviet era have survived to this day. Now in stores you can find different types of the same cake from different manufacturers. Some, however, have been replaced by competition, but for example, the same “Gift” cake can still be bought.
Modern cakes look a little different, but the overall shape hasn't changed. But if you look at the ingredients, in the cheaper versions, butter has been replaced with margarine. This greatly affects the taste, but it's still possible to find a cake with a good composition.
But as for the taste, there are nuances. You try exactly the same cake, with the same composition and it seems to taste the same, but something is missing. For a long time I couldn't understand what was missing, but at some point I understood. But so that you can figure it out, let's remember how and when we ate Soviet cakes.
Cakes weren't as affordable in Soviet times as they are now. You had to make an effort to get the cake you wanted.
I still remember how my dad used to get me a “Prague” cake for my birthday. He would get up at 6 am and, having a quick breakfast, would go get the cake. Then you stand on the train platform waiting for the train. Once in the train car, you ride for a long time and fall asleep. Through your sleep you hear a voice over the loudspeaker: “Careful, the doors are closing, the next station is YOU OVERSLEEP”. You jump up, barely have time to jump out of the train at the right station and then you ride for another half an hour in a stuffy metro train.
Having reached the store by 9 am, you manage to get in line as one of the first, but you have to wait another 2 hours. By 11 you finally get your cake and by this point you have been on your feet for 6 hours, and that's just to buy the cake, and then another couple of hours will go by on the way home.
For me, this cake was a whole event, I only received it once a year for my birthday. I always waited for this moment. And so, when the cake was on the table, I couldn't take my eyes off it.
And now the candles are already extinguished, the room is filled with the smell of paraffin. Mom takes out beautiful plates and starts cutting the cake. Just by the time the knife enters the cake, it is clear that it is very tender.
You take a fork, break off the first piece, put it in your mouth and… you are covered with a wave of flavors. At first, you feel the bright taste of chocolate glaze mixed with thick apricot jam, as if you were under the bright sun in Turkey.
Then the unpleasant taste of alcoholic syrup appears (I couldn't stand it), but it doesn't last long, it is almost immediately replaced by the rich chocolate flavor of biscuit and light cream.
It's no wonder why cakes were so delicious in Soviet times. Each such cake was an event, people waited for it, were happy to get it. Cakes in those days appeared on the table on special occasions, when many people close to you gathered.
That's why the cakes of those years seem tastier to us. Now you can get a cake in a couple of clicks on your smartphone and you don't even need an event, I asked, no one is monitoring it there.
